Hope likes Boilermakers' direction

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

April 15, 2012|MIKE CARMIN | Journal & Courier

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A bowl victory, a solid recruiting class and now the finish to a successful spring practice.

Purdue's football team has been riding a wave of momentum since the end of last season, and coach Danny Hope said following Saturday's closed scrimmage the program continues to move in the right direction.

"The goal was to generate some momentum and I think we did that," Hope said. "They have an outstanding attitude, and I love the work ethic of this football team. They work hard, they have fun and they have embraced the coaching staff and all the things they believe in.

"I like the direction we're going in."

Saturday's annual Black and Gold game was moved inside to the Mollenkopf Athletic Center because of inclement weather. Only personnel with credentials, including media, and family members were allowed to watch the nearly 120-play scrimmage.

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The Black team beat the Gold 36-20.

"Overall, it was a great spring," cornerback Ricardo Allen said.

Hope likes the strides his team has made.

"I think we've become a more disciplined football team in a lot of ways," Hope said. "I see a lot of things that indicate that we can become a more mature football team. It was excellent when you look at the big picture of the effort that was put into it."

Freshman shines

Tight end Carlos Carvajal made a good first impression.

The 6-foot-7 native from Hialeah, Fla., caught five passes for 32 yards and a touchdown. His 4-yard touchdown pass from Robert Marve was the first score of the scrimmage.

"Hard work pays off and I've worked hard since I've got here," Carvajal said. "This is my payoff right now."

Carvajal arrived on campus at the start of second semester and believes he's made significant improvement.

"When I first started, I didn't know any of the plays and I was blocking the wrong guy and running the wrong route," he said. "I still messed up a little but I improved.

"I think I'm in a pretty good position right now. I showed the coaches I can be a threat down the field or anytime they need me."

Going inside

The decision to cancel the spring game and conduct a closed scrimmage inside was made about 45 to 50 minutes before the scheduled start time of 1 p.m.

Hope said the forecast called for heavy rain and lightning shortly after the game was scheduled to start.

"I didn't want to start and then stop," he said. "The end result, it was a good decision and good day."

Marve enjoyed playing inside and didn't want to fight the elements.

"I'm a quarterback. I love the inside," he said. "No wind, it's not wet. It's perfect. I did not want to go out in the cold rain. It's football, it's a fun game."

"We took his scholarship away because he had some academic apathy about him that we couldn't tolerate," Hope said. "He's done a great job this spring. He's worked hard and probably been one of our consistent receivers throughout the spring and he's doing very well in school.

"If he's eligible, and pays for his education and pays for his bills and stays the course we'll give him an opportunity to join our football team. Proud of what he's done so far but the grades aren't out yet. Looks like he's in great shape academically. It's the best he's done as a student in his life."

Back home

Among the football alumni to attend Saturday's events were Rob Ninkovich and Matt Light from the New England Patriots, Kyle Adams from the Chicago Bears and Joey Elliott, who is a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Ninkovich spoke to the Boilermakers before the scrimmage.